Not surprisingly, I was unable to grab any shut-eye on the train (I think I just get anxious when I travel). To my luck, the views afforded from the train were absolutely breathtaking. The train took us through Linz and then Salzburg – the tiny alpine towns en route were tucked in amongst the snow capped Alps, and with my iPod blasting some of my favourite tunes, I felt like I was passing through a dreamland.
The Hauptbahnhof (“main train station”) in Munich was a bit of a nut house upon arrival. Kim was supposed to arrive on her train from Innsbruck four minutes before us, but she was nowhere to be found at the planned meeting spot. A quick phone call informed us that she was already waiting for us in the (warmer) hostel, a mere couple minutes walk down the road. Asides from the ideal location, our hostel “4 You Muenchen” was a great choice. The staff was friendly, the rooms were clean, the lockers were huge.. The one downside was the water pressure in the showers (it pretty much just sprayed in all directions), but we were told by the owner that they would be replacing them in the next few weeks. (Great timing, eh?) The inexpensive nightly rate also included what would definitely be considered a better-than-average (hostel) breakfast each morning.
After dropping our luggage at the hostel and checking-in, the three of us girls set out for a late lunch. It was immediately obvious from the way the three of us chitter-chattered away that it was going to be a great weekend..and to think Morgan and Kim had met only minutes before! We wandered away from the over-touristy (and therefore over-priced) Marien Platz, and onto one of the side streets, where we found a tiny tucked-away tavern. We each ordered our first beer of the weekend, and I went through the menu explaining some of the typical Bavarian dishes to the girls. Already I had my mind set-on Weiss Wurst and Brezen – basically white sausage eaten without the skin and dipped in sweet mustard, coupled with a freshly-baked giant Pretzel. Traditionally, Bavarians don’t eat Weiss Wurst after noon, but as a tourist I exempted myself from this rule. Both of the girls decided to try one of my other favourites, Käse Spätzle, cheesy egg-type noodles served with fried onions.
After a satisfying lunch, we continued to explore around Marien Platz before deciding it was time to head back to the hostel to get ready for our planned evening activity - At 5:30 we were to meet in front of the Rat Haus (City Hall) in Marien Platz for a “Beer & Brewery Tour”. The tour promised an insider’s glimpse into the history of beer and breweries of Munich, as well as (most importantly), some beer sampling. Beer has a very rich history in Bavaria, and of course the Bavarian’s claim to make the “best beer in the world”. Beer brewing originally began in the monasteries of Munich, and some of the big brewers still have the names of the monasteries from where they originated (ex. Augustiner – from St. Augustine). Today, there are six main brewers in Munich; these are the only six allowed to participate in Oktoberfest, as the requirement is that the beer must be brewed within the Munich city limits. Each restaurant, pub, etc. remains faithful to a particular brewer, only serving beer produced by them. Apparently this can be slightly awkward when planning a dinner or drinks out with friends, depending on each person’s beer preferences. After visiting a couple of famous beer houses, we ended with tour of a Paulaner microbrewery. We tried “Helles” (light), “Weissen” (Wheat) and also “Bock”/”Stark” (Strong) beers. It happened that we were in Munich during the “Starkt Bier Festival” (Strong Beer Festival) - during Lent, many of the breweries offer a strong (12% alcohol content) beer. Historically, the Monks fasted during Lent, and in lieu of food were given a ration of 5 Litres of strong beer each day throughout the Lenten season. I’m sure this was an interesting time of year in the Monasteries ; ).
Following the tour, we headed back to our Hostel to check-out the Hostel Bar. Because we had booked online, we were given “Happy Hour passes” for the entire weekend..which basically meant that any hour was Happy Hour! We quickly befriended the bartender, as well as the Hostel owner, and other fellow travellers. From there we received advice on where we could go to dance the remainder of the night away.
Day number two, Marienplatz was an absolute madhouse! We attempted to browse around a few shops, but after H&M (and one scarf later), we quickly gave up. We set off for the Viktualen Market, where already in March the beer gardens were buzzing with excitement. We marveled at the stands of fresh cheese, exotics fruits and vegetables, and fresh-cut flowers. We saw several people walking around with what appeared to be giant pickles, and set-out to find them. It was literally a giant (pickled) cucumber, and obviously the most exciting and delicious thing a pickle-lover could ask for.
At the end of the market, there stood a double-decker tour bus; I had never been on one before, and a glance at the map showed the bus would take us to spots that would be quite a hike by foot, and so we jumped aboard. Unfortunately it wasn’t a “live” tour, and instead we listened to the (broken English) explanations through head phones, but the tour nevertheless gave us a good overview of the history of Munich and some of the most important monuments.
Our tour bus let us off again in Viktualen Markt. The smell in the air was absolutely incredible, and we noticed it came from everyone around us eating “Leberkaese” sandwiches. Leberkaese translates into “liver cheese”, although I am pretty sure that it is made from neither “liver” or “cheese”. Basically, it is a meatloaf shaped hot dog, cut into slices and served on a round bun with sweet or spicy mustard. The description I had offered to the girls the day before was met with looks of disgust, but there was no denying that the sandwiches were absolutely delicious. (We even had them again the next day for lunch!) Our overall consensus from our favourite foods in Austria and Germany is that it is often the most simple dishes that are the most delicious. (Wiener Schnitzel, Sausage from a street vendor, or even a bakery fresh bun topped with a few slices of deli meat.)
We had hoped to have a brew in the famous Hofbrau Haus, but like Marien Platz earlier that day, the place was absolutely jammed, and so we took some pictures and left. Instead we set-off for the Augustiner Keller, a beer house just down the road from our hostel which served my absolute favourite beer, Augustiner Helles. There was a beer festival taking place in the festival hall, but as we were only looking to have one beer, we decided to forgo the 7 euro entry. We were eventually seated at a corner booth, where we were quickly joined by several other small groups of people. This camaraderie is one of my favourite aspects of German beer culture – why turn away a thirsty customer when there is plenty of space available at an (already occupied) table. After our first Litre of beer, we could hear the festival in the neighbouring room wa
s getting pretty rowdy. A peek inside showed that already by 8 o’clock, many people were up and dancing on the long benches and tables, and enjoying the live band. It was quickly established that another night out at any old club could be repeated anywhere, and this was an opportunity not to be missed. We were not disappointed, and quickly joined the throngs of people for an atmosphere and a night not to be forgotten!Day three we headed to Schloss Nymphenburg, the summer residence of the Bavarian Monarchy, and also birthplace of the “fairytale King” Ludwig II. I had been through the rooms and Museum before, and so the best part of the day was definitely our long stroll through the (seemingly) endless gardens surrounding the castle. We were fortunate to have sunny, Spring-like weather for most of the weekend, and we finished off our expedition with a coffee on a sunny patio in the castle botanical gardens. Unfortunately by this time it was late afternoon, and time to head back to our respective destinations. Our four-hour train ride back to Vienna was absolutely packed, but thank goodness Munich was the first departure station and we had seats, unlike the many unfortunate ones who had to camp-out with their suitcases as seats in the hallways. (Note-to-self, the 3 Euro it costs to reserve a seat in advance might be a worthwhile expenditure!) Even after an exciting weekend away, it was nice to return to Vienna, and I can tell you I had a very restful sleep back in my familiar bed in my other “home away from home”.
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